When Tom Braspenning calls our office at Schiphol on 2 November 2022, he is looking for a freight forwarder to provide transport from the manufacturer in Asia to their location in the Netherlands. Tom is co-founder of KOBRA Bikes, a fat bike developed by him and his associates.
Transport from supplier late for event
The supplier proved unable to arrange transport in time. Three bikes with battery had to go to the Netherlands as soon as possible, and the remaining 57 bikes should arrive in Heemstede on Wednesday 14 December. This so that the bikes could be made ready for the event on Saturday 17 December. As economically as possible, of course.
All transport options in one hand
The transport organised by MOL for KOBRA Bikes is an excellent example of our logistics capabilities: all transport options in one hand, a global network and dedicated colleagues who think outside the box to best serve the customer.
The case
The December rush was imminent, the supplier did not have all the licences, and the combination of 'electrical bike' and the country of production requires expertise from our declarants to carry out the customs formalities smoothly.
- Due to a missing licence and tight transit time, sea freight is not an option.
- Due to the batteries, the entire shipment by train was not an option.
- Due to batteries, the entire shipment was not possible via nearest airport.
- However, the entire shipment could be sent via Hong Kong airport, which is a costly option.
The solution
Several options had been considered and calculated and finally the following proposal had been sent to KOBRA Bikes:
- All batteries via Hong Kong
- The three bikes via Shanghai airport
- The remaining 57 bikes by train to Mala, Poland, and from there by truck to the Netherlands.
The implementation
As so often with international shipments, especially since the beginning of the COVID period, the shipment did not go entirely according to plan. The air cargo went perfectly. Due to excessive snowfall, the arrival by train had been shifted from 6 to 14 December. The truck from Poland to the Netherlands had a transit time of about 36 hours, which meant delivery would be sometime on Friday 16 December.
Our A-team
Since the event would take place on 17 December and the bikes still needed to be modified with the Dutch-made parts, this clearly called for creativity and dedication. We divided the 3,000-kg shipment into three 1,000-kg shipments that travelled by van from Poland to the Netherlands. This made the transit time 18 hours and, partly due to a perfectly run customs clearance by the declarants, the bikes could be delivered on Thursday 15 December at around noon.
Evaluation
Okay, the set delivery date was missed due to force majeure. But the KOBRA bikes event was able to go ahead as planned, albeit with a bit more tension. But thanks to dedication, creativity and the benefits of MOL Logistics' "one-stop-shop" concept, it was a project to look back on positively.
Meanwhile, we are handling a shipment with a larger number of bikes to the Netherlands for KOBRA bikes. The star team at MOL Logistics is back on top and this shipment is going well!
ENGELS 
NEDERLANDS